Het geheim van het slot Arco

Summary

A young woman is neglected by her husband, who devotes too much time to his business affairs. When he brings a friend to stay at their home, the housekeeper warns him of the danger of the situation by relating the legend of Castle Arco. It happened three hundred years ago that the owner of the castle, ever occupied with his studies, always left his wife alone. A young man who was to paint her portrait gained her affection. Feeling that his honour had been betrayed, the husband took a terrible revenge. It is said that a headless man lies somewhere in a dungeon beneath the ruins of the castle. The story is proved to be true when the married couple's little child falls through the rotting floor of the cellar and, after three centuries, the remains of the body of the headless man are found. The moral of the tale is that a wise man should love not only his work but also his wife.